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Texas Hot Air Balloon Accident Kills 16

A hot air balloon carrying 16 people crashed in central Texas
early Saturday morning, killing everyone onboard. The Texas hot air balloon
accident happened near Lockhart in Caldwell County, which is roughly 30 miles
south of Austin. The incident is the worst hot air balloon accident in U.S.
history; never before has a hot air balloon crash in the U.S. resulted in so
many fatalities.

Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride

Passengers of the ill-fated balloon ride assembled at a WalMart
parking lot at 5:45 a.m. on Saturday morning to catch a van to the launch site
for Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides. The hot air balloon was scheduled to
depart with the sunrise at 6:49 a.m. for an hour-long ride. Authorities say the
balloon was delayed for unknown reasons and ended up departing at around 7:10
a.m.

Once airborne, the hot air balloon travelled for about eight miles
before something went wrong. Officials believe the balloon clipped power lines
adjacent to a field at around 7:42 a.m. A 911 call was placed around a minute
later. The balloon’s passenger basket (known as a gondola) came to rest just
under a mile away from the balloon (known as an envelope).

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Robert Sumwalt
told reporters that a fire had broken out on the hot air balloon before it fell
to the ground. At this time, it is unclear whether the fire happened before the
hot air balloon hit the power lines or after.

Local resident Margaret Wylie told USA TODAY she was taking her
dog out at around 7:40 a.m. when she heard a loud “pop, pop, pop.” When she
looked around she saw a “fireball going up,” noting that the top of the flames
nearly reached the power lines.

What Caused the Texas Hot Air Balloon Accident?

Officials with the NTSB are in the early stages of what will
likely be a lengthy investigation into the cause of the Texas hot air balloon
accident. As of now, the NTSB’s “working hypothesis” is that the hot air
balloon made contact with the power lines, which likely severed the envelope
from the gondola. This sent the gondola and the 16 people inside plummeting to
the ground.

Victims of the Texas Hot Air Balloon Accident Identified

While most of the victims have not been formally identified,
families and friends of loved ones who died in the hot air balloon crash have
begun to memorialize the victims on the internet. Below are some of victims
that have been identified by media reports:

·Alfred “Skip” Nichols (pilot) – Nichols’ identity was confirmed by Alan
Lirette, the ground crew supervisor with Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides.
Nichols was the owner and operator of Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides.
Lirette described Nichols as a “great pilot.”

·Joe Owens and Tresa Shafer Owens – The couple from Katy, Texas, “adored their
children and grandchildren,” according to a GoFundMe page that has been set up in their honor to cover funeral expenses. The
page says Tresa was a preschool teacher at TigerLane Preschool.

·Paige Brabson and Lorilee Brabson -Paige and her mother, Lorilee were San Antonio residents. The trip
on the hot air balloon was a gift that Paige had given her mother on Mother’s
Day. Paige leaves behind a newborn child.

·Sunday and Matt Rowan – The College Station couple had recently
married in February. Matt was a professor and burn treatment researcher. Sunday
was mother to a five-year-old boy.

·Brian and Tressie Neill – The San Antonio couple were married for 23
years. According to a GoFundMe page, Brian surprised his wife with the hot
air balloon trip. While the two of them were in the air, Brian sent his brother
a photo of the view from the air, asking, “can you see our reflection in the
clouds?”

Texas Hot Air Balloon Accident Investigation

According to the NTSB, the Texas hot air balloon accident
investigation will focus on the operation of the balloon, the training and
in-flight actions of pilot Alfred “Skip” Nichols, and the operator, Heart of
Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides.

Another point of emphasis for investigators will be the ground
crew for Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, which will be interviewed by the
NTSB on Monday. Among the many questions that will need to be answered is why
the hot air balloon was delayed for 20 minutes before departure.

According to Sumwalt, the weather at the time of departure in San
Marcos (six miles away from crash site) was overcast with visibility of two
miles. Sumwalt has said it is too early to speculate if weather played a role
in the Texas hot air balloon accident.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found 14 electronic
devices that belonged to a number of the victims at the scene of the Texas hot
air balloon crash, including cell phones, an iPad and three cameras.According to CNN, Nichols used and iPad and a cell phone
to communicate with the ground crew during each trip. Investigators are hoping
that images or videos taken from these devices will help to uncover what went
wrong in the moments prior to the deadly hot air balloon crash.

More Regulation Needed for Hot Air Balloons

According to Dean Carlton, president of the Balloon Federation of
America, as many as half a million people in the U.S. ride in hot air balloons
every year. An estimated 200 large hot air balloon tour operators provide
services throughout the country, along with hundreds of other smaller
businesses.

Since 1964, the NTSB has investigated 800 hot air balloon
accidents in the U.S., including 71 of which were fatal. These accidents are
commonly caused by weather conditions like wind and crashing into power lines.

In 2013, 19 people died in a balloon crash in Egypt; the deadliest
recorded hot air balloon crash in history. A year later, the NTSB urged the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to tighten the regulations on hot air
balloon operators, citing “operational deficiencies.”

In her 2014 letter to the FAA, the NTSB’s former chair Deborah
Hersman pointed out that balloon gondolas can carry upwards of 20 people,
opening the door to a high number of deaths if a safety deficiency leads to an
accident. Hersman recommended that balloon operators be required to have
letters of authorization in order to provide tour flights, making them no
different than tour helicopter pilots, for example.

The FAA responded to the NTSB’s recommendation, saying the
proposed letters of authorization “would not result in significantly higher
levels of operational safety.”

“The investigation and prosecution of this
disaster must include a review of the oversight and licensing of hot air
balloon companies,” sayspersonal injury attorney Ilyas Akbari of Baum, Hedlund,
Aristei & Goldman. “How many more deaths will it take before the FAA finally
acts on the NTSB’s warnings? These operations routinely charge more per person
than many airline tickets, with virtually zero oversight. Our hearts go out to
the families of those lost in this horrific tragedy.”

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